Out of the Shade
by I-Can-Spell-Confusion-With-A-K
Summary: Jackson and Melissa never really got their big romantic moment in the series. So this is a series of one shots based on all the times things could have gone differently.
1. Chapter 1:Promises to Keep

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. This goes for the whole story as I almost always forget to post a disclaimer. :p **

**Author's Note: I can't believe I'm writing for Flight 29 Down again after all this time but for some reason my obsession has popped back up full force. So this is a Melissa/Jackson story of sorts but it's really a collection of one shots. I know it was a kid show but I was always disappointed that they never got a really obvious romantic moment. So my idea for this series is to take a bunch of moments from the series that could have turned romantic and rewrite them so that they do. In this case it's pretty much the entire episode "Survival of the Fittest" but it could be a simple conversation or missing moment. If you have any idea for episodes or moments you'd like me to redo or insert something in to, please let me know in the reviews! The title is inspired by the song "Out of the Shade" by the Perishers and I highly encourage you to give it a listen! **

_**Promises to Keep**_

"Hey, come with me," Jackson demanded anxiously giving the napping Eric's foot a kick for good measure.

"What? Where?" Eric moaned, rolling over lethargically.

Jackson had no patience for Eric's questions and he had to force himself to answer calmly when his first instinct was to simply drag the other boy to his feet.

"Look, Melissa's been gone for hours and I'm a little worried about her," He could hear his voice betraying just how inaccurate the whole "little" part of his statement was but he didn't much care in that moment.

One minute he and Melissa had been working peacefully on the beach and the next thanks to Taylor and Eric's little stunt she'd been tearing off in to the jungle. If it were any of the others he wouldn't have been all that concerned but dramatic displays weren't Melissa's style, not if they came at the expense of safety. She was obviously a sensitive girl and he had no trouble believing that she'd need to take off and get a little space after what amounted to having her innermost thoughts blasted for everyone to hear. He just didn't think she'd wander off by herself for hours when so much of the surrounding jungle was still a total mystery to them and the alternative…

Jackson tried to keep his mind from considering all of the thousands of horrible possible reasons that Melissa hadn't returned yet. It may have been Taylor and Eric's actions that had sent her running headfirst into danger but he was under no illusions about who she'd been trying to avoid when she took off. It had been her supposed feelings for him after all that had been mercilessly played on a loop over the sound system. He would let himself examine how the awkward announcement made him feel when things settled down but for the time being Jackson felt a weight of guilt for her distress, deserved or not.

"I'd love to, Chief, but I'm still burnt after almost _dying_ yesterday," Eric retorted, stressing the word "dying" as though it should be instantly impressive.

Jackson forced himself to take a quick gulp of air in an attempt to calm himself before making his reply. He knew these rich kids were delusional but had this guy honestly already forgotten why he was still around at all?

"I'll go," Lex's bright voice interrupted Jackson's mental tirade as the kid ran up to join the conversation and the forming search party.

Jackson knew Lex was probably feeling guilty as well over his unwitting role in the tape broadcast. Jackson shook his head and glared at Eric again, undeterred. It seemed as though everyone on this beach was feeling guilty over the incident except the two people who were actually responsible for it.

"If it weren't for Melissa you would have died," Jackson snapped at Eric waiting for any sign of the gratitude he knew Eric had briefly shown Melissa the night before.

"Don't lay guilt on me," Eric argued, though something resembling remorse was starting to creep into his expression. "The camera was Taylor's idea."

Before Jackson could say anything else Taylor wandered in right on cue, a big grin on her face and one hand poised on her hip as though she were posing for a photo shoot rather than talking to her fellow castaways on a deserted beach.

"What was my idea?" She asked, giving Jackson an almost flirty smile.

Jackson gritted his teeth knowing that laying into these clueless brats wouldn't do anything to help find Melissa. Usually he was able to appreciate the humor afforded by their antics and attempts to avoid anything resembling work but this went way behind harmless laziness. It was true that sometimes he found Melissa's attempts to get him to open up annoying but her only real crime was caring too much what people thought about her, a weakness these two had wasted no time in exploiting. As frustrating as he had found her inability to leave well enough alone at times, Jackson had to admit he'd found her innocence and flat out kindness to be incredibly refreshing after the people he was usually surrounded with back home. And now a perfectly nice girl was having all her trusting, kind nature driven out of her because of some stupid crush on _him_ and that wasn't right.

"Ok," Jackson jabbed his finger in Taylor's direction before directing his best 'and you'll be sorry expression' at Eric. "If anything happens to Melissa it's on both of your heads."

Jackson spun on his heels and led Lex towards the jungle in the general direction that he thought Melissa had gone.

The two of them spent about an hour methodically checking different patches of jungle being careful to cover as much ground as deemed reasonably possible in each direction before returning to their starting point. Every few seconds they called out to Melissa pausing to listen for an answer that so far hadn't come.

Jackson was just beginning to feel a real sense of clawing panic in his chest when a rustling in the foliage ahead stopped him in his tracks. His hand shot out to grip Lex's shoulder and he put his finger up to his lips in a gesture indicating the boy should be quiet.

"Melissa?" Jackson called out hopefully, only to be disappointed when Eric and Taylor instead appeared before them.

"Taylor, Eric, what are you guys doing out here?" Lex asked, which was just as well as Jackson wasn't sure he would have been able to speak without betraying his extreme disappointment and growing anxiety.

"Taylor and I came looking for Melissa," Eric supplied, looking more than a little worse for the wear. "Look, I'm not a total jerk, man, but I'm still weak. I've got to get back."

Jackson gave him a slight nod and Eric started past him on the path back to camp. Jackson was about to take off again when he noticed that Taylor was following Eric in the opposite direction.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jackson demanded. "I thought you wanted to find Melissa!"

"Of course I do, but this is ridiculous!" Taylor exclaimed, waving her arms at the growth around her. "We're running around with no direction and she could be anywhere! Besides, she'll come back on her own. I bet she's already back at camp, someone should probably go and check. Don't worry, Jackson, I'm on it."

With that Taylor turned and sauntered off towards the beach leaving Jackson and Lex staring after her in equal parts shock and anger.

"I can't believe she just…" Lex started but Jackson cut him off quickly.

"Let's just get going," He sighed. "Melissa's still out there and we're burning daylight."

They hadn't been searching much longer when the jungle around them began to thin out and the ground began to slope upwards. Jackson and Lex were both breathing heavily a few minutes later when they broke free of the jungle and began climbing what appeared to be a steep hill. About halfway up it became apparent that they were actually surrounded by mountains and the view would have been spectacular under more pleasant circumstances. As things were Jackson had no eyes for the view and crested the hill with single-minded determination to find Melissa and bring her back to camp.

He wasn't sure exactly what he was going to say once he saw her. He wished that simply telling her not to be embarrassed would make her feel better but he doubted it would. Besides who was he to tell her not to be embarrassed when her most private thoughts had been broadcast for all to hear? He was embarrassed and the tape was only related to him not ripped from his own diary.

Part of him wanted to tell Melissa how flattered he was that she cared about him but he wasn't sure if that would be encouraging her crush or not. Did he want to encourage it? He had no idea, honestly. He didn't have any experience with girls like Melissa, girls who were sensitive and innocent and everything he had a habit of screwing up. He knew he appreciated and relied on her kindness and unsolicited friendship but did that mean that he _liked_ her?

If he weren't on this island he probably would have been able to figure it out. Then again if he weren't on this island Melissa probably wouldn't have liked him at all. Either way being on the island meant that even if he decided he wanted to he could never _act_ on liking someone, not when they would all be trapped here for God knows how long. The term "bad breakup" would take on a whole new meaning if someone tried and failed to have a relationship with one of the only six other people they were likely to see until rescue.

"Why am I worrying about this?" Jackson thought angrily. "Just focus on finding her and worry about the rest later."

"Wow," Jackson was startled out of his thoughts by Lex's exclamation and looked around for the source of the boy's surprise.

He spotted it quickly and his heart leapt into his throat leaving him feeling choked and sick.

A shirt he was pretty sure belonged to Melissa was sitting in the dirt near the edge of what appeared to be a sheer drop off from a cliff down into a gaping ravine. If she had gone over the edge…

"Look, wait a minute, footprints," Jackson pointed out the prints he had just spotted leading towards the edge exactly where he didn't want them to go.

Without pausing to think of a better strategy Jackson simply charged forward both eager to get a look over the edge and dreading what he might see.

"Melissa!" He shouted, his voice sounding desperate to his own ears.

"I'm down here!" The reply came almost immediately but it was so faint that at first Jackson thought he was imagining it, then it came again. "Be careful! The edge isn't safe!"

Jackson took what felt like his first deep breath in hours. The voice was faint and sounded raspy from overuse but it was Melissa and she was alive. It took him a second but her advice sunk in as well and Jackson took a careful step backwards before sliding forward on his stomach to keep as much weight as possible away from the edge.

"Are you alright? Are you safe?" He called down to her, willing the answer to be yes.

He needed to get back to camp and get something to help get her up, but if the answer was no he wasn't sure what he'd do. He had a sneaking suspicion it would be something incredibly stupid like try to climb down and get her himself, rope or not.

"I'm ok," She called back, pausing for a moment before repeating her earlier warning to him. "Be careful!"

Jackson shook his head, a small smile making its way on to his still panic stricken face. Leave it to Melissa to be worried about everyone else when her life was clearly in danger.

"Hey, we're going to get you up," He called down to her his tone confident and not betraying just how hard he thought that might prove to be, especially when the we in question was him and Lex.

Jackson turned to his young companion who had by this time crawled up beside him on his stomach.

"You stay here, I'm going to go get the rope," Jackson informed him already springing to his feet, turning back only long enough to caution Lex. "Do not go near the edge."

As soon as Lex had nodded Jackson was sprinting off towards camp, careening down the hill and back in to the jungle. He had to force himself to slow down slightly several times as he navigated uneven ground and dense trees. Every second wasted on caution was driving him crazy but he knew that if he tripped and broke an ankle he would be no good to Melissa.

Finally after what seemed like forever he crashed in to camp, glancing around quickly he didn't see anyone he could bring back to help him. He thought he might have passed Daley and Nathan at one point in the jungle but he hadn't heard them shouting until he was already past them and had no intention of going back to find out. As for Taylor she was in the ocean splashing around lazily and by the time he waited for her to come out and dry off he would have wasted more time than her lackluster help was likely to be worth. He assumed Eric was sleeping in one of the tents but he didn't pause to find out that either.

Instead Jackson raced to the plane, dug the rope out of one of the supply bags Melissa had been organizing just yesterday and took off back in the direction he had just come from.

This time he had to admit his progress was even slower and it wasn't just because of the hazardous terrain. He had been traipsing around the jungle for the better part of the day and this was his second full out sprint in less than an hour. Ignoring the burning in his side, Jackson pushed forward at the same pace as he reached the bottom of the hill.

As tired as he was he knew Melissa was likely to be in worse shape and he wanted her back up here beside him where he could reassure himself that she wasn't seriously hurt.

Finally cresting the hill, Jackson came to a clumsy stop beside Lex, allowing himself a couple of panting breathes before he called out to Melissa.

"Ok, tie this under your arms and we'll pull you up," He shouted, tossing an already looped rope down over the cliff face, hoping silently that it would be long enough to actually reach the girl stranded below. He also hoped that the cliff wasn't so sheer that she wouldn't be able to do a bit of climbing to help them out. He was decently convinced of his own strength and Lex was a determined kid, but if they had to pull her up as a dead weight they might have a problem.

Hoping it didn't come to that, Jackson put his end of the looped rope over his head and under his arms tightening it as much as he could. He knew well enough that making himself the counter weight wasn't his brightest idea and that if Melissa fell suddenly he might go over after her. There wasn't anything else available though and he had to give her the best chance that he could.

"You climb and we'll pull," He called down to her, feeling a slight tug as he assumed she hooked the rope around herself.

"Grab on," He told Lex, and the kid did as he was told. "Ok, we're good to go up here, are you ready?"

He waited for an answer to his question and when none came all of his former panic came rushing back in. He'd taken too long to get the rope, she'd fallen or she'd been more injured than she let on and passed out.

"Hey, you alright down there?" He called, waiting only about a second before he called out again. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Her voice drifted up and Jackson felt his whole body relax. "I am now."

Jackson grinned back at Lex who returned his smile with enthusiasm.

"Ok, let's do this," Jackson shouted, running back a few paces so he and Lex could have more leverage. "Pull!"

Luckily it appeared that Melissa was able to climb because though it wasn't exactly easy they were able to pull her up fairly quickly. As she began to be visible over the edge, Jackson rushed forward to help pull her the rest of the way over on to safe ground.

It seemed like their strength gave out at the same moment because they both toppled to the ground immediately, a pile of exhausted limbs all that was visible to Lex.

Jackson allowed them both a moment to simply breathe before helped Melissa to a sitting position in front of him, examining her quickly for any obvious injuries. She appeared to be in one piece but there was a nasty scratch on her arm and another cut he didn't like the look on the side of her face. Without thinking about he reached out and brushed her hair out of her face in order to get a better look at the cut there that had left a trail of dried blood down her cheek.

"Are you ok? Did you hit your head?" He asked softly, only belatedly realizing how close his face was to hers.

Her eyes looked huge from this distance and the expression in them wasn't one that Jackson could easily read. It was changing too quickly from simple exhaustion to embarrassment to something else for him to get a grip on what she was truly feeling.

She nodded and he had no idea which question she was answering but it didn't much matter to him at the moment. If she was ok enough to answer him that was enough for him for now.

"I knew you'd find me," She murmured, looking down to avoid his gaze. "Thank you."

He didn't know what possessed him in that moment but he leaned forward and pressed his lips gently and briefly to the dirty patch of skin near her cut. It was probably leftover adrenaline from the whole situation but he didn't really care for the time being if this would make things weird or if he was leading her on when he couldn't be with her on the island. Because in this moment the important thing was that he knew he _wanted_ to be with her. She was _good_, kind and hopeful and funny and right now covered in dirt and who knew what else she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"I guess…you're welcome?" He laughed at the pure absurdity of the situation and was relieved to hear her laugh as well.

He was so happy to hear the sound that he tugged her forward into a hug, burying his face in her neck and breathing in the scent of a very dirty, very sweaty, very much _alive_ Melissa Wu. She gripped him back just as forcefully and the slight shaking of her shoulders let Jackson know that she was crying. He rubbed her back gently, knowing that it was probably just relief at this point and not any real distress.

"Is she ok?" Lex's anxious voice broke into his thoughts and Melissa pulled away much to his disappointment.

"I'm fine," Melissa answered, wiping at her face to remove the last traces of her tears. "Thanks to you guys. You're a hero, Lex."

Lex grinned and came forward to give Melissa a hug.

Jackson rose to his feet and then reached down to help Melissa up. He kept one of his hands wrapped around one of hers as they set off under the pretense of her legs being shaky from standing in one position so long. The truth was he wanted to keep touching her so that he could reassure himself that was ok, but so far no one had called him out on his obvious over protectiveness.

When they made it back to camp Nathan and Daley were back and were instantly at their sides fussing over Melissa. After making sure they had everything in the first aid kit they would need, Jackson turned her over to her friends care and returned to his project on the beach. He hated to let her out of his sight but he didn't want to freak her out by hovering. He knew he needed to give them both some space and try to get his thoughts in order. He didn't want to make things anymore confusing for Melissa on what had to go down in the record books as one of her worst days ever.

It was maybe an hour or so later that she appeared before him, surprising him out of his thoughts. She had put a sweatshirt on but the cut on her face at least already looked a lot less serious now that the dirt and blood had been washed away.

"Hi," She said quietly as he stood quickly.

"Oh, hey," He cursed himself for his less than smooth response as she looked away in embarrassment. "I uh, got something for you."

He reached into his shirt pocket and retrieved Melissa's tape, holding it out to her as an offering. He tried to make the whole thing into a joke to lesson her mortification. "You should probably keep that in a safe place."

If it was possible she looked even more horrified. "Oh, I will,"

"You should probably try to keep yourself in a safe place too," He offered, hoping she could hear the sincerity in his voice. "We need you around here, Mel. All of us, even if they don't always show it."

He was talking about Taylor and Eric but he was talking about himself too and he could only hope that she would pick up on that.

She managed to make eye contact with him again for a moment, but she didn't respond.

Jackson sighed. It was now or never.

"Listen, Mel, since we all have to live with each other here it would be kind of weird for any of us to get, you know." He felt like a five year old unable to talk about relationships without resorting to the term "cooties".

He could see how much she wanted to escape this conversation and in fact she was already turning away from him when she replied

"It's ok, please just forget that this happened. I'm so embarrassed. I know we're just friends."

She started down the beach in the opposite direction and Jackson's one prevailing thought was to keep her with him somehow.

"But maybe when we get back home, I could give you a call or something," He trailed off awkwardly but he was glad to see that he'd at least gotten her to stop walking away.

For a moment she simply stood facing the other way and he was sure he'd totally blown it. Then she spun to face him again and took a few steps forward before answering in what he was pretty sure was a falsely casual tone.

"Yeah, I'd like that,"

"And for now…" He trailed off, not fully sure what he was going to say or even if he wanted to say it. He's spent a lot of time pushing people away, secure in the knowledge that getting attached to someone was just giving them an opening to hurt you later. It didn't feel like that with Mel though.

"For now?" She echoed, shifting nervously from foot to foot in front of him, looking up at him searchingly with those eyes that usually saw right through him.

Making his decision Jackson leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, pulling back quickly but leaving one hand brushing against her cheek.

"For now, be careful," He told her firmly. "I want you in one piece when I make that phone call, alright?"

She nodded, looking shocked but happy.

"Ok," Jackson took a deep breath and glanced around at his unfinished project. "Give me a hand here?"

His only answer from Melissa was a huge grin but it was the best answer he could have hoped for.

"Alright," He handed her a coconut and grabbed one for himself to add to the giant "HELP" pattern they were creating.

He wasn't sure when rescue was coming but he had faith that it would. For the first time in a long time Cody Jackson had a promise to keep and he didn't intend to break this one.


	2. Chapter 2:Something Different

**Author's Note: Ok, so here's the next chapter! I want to point out that unless I specifically say so these chapters should be read as one shots and not a continuation of any other chapter. For instance, this missing moment takes place in the episode with Lex's obstacle course (can't recall the title at the moment), which just so happens to be the episode directly after Survival of the Fittest when the first chapter takes place. But the Jackson and Melissa in this chapter haven't experienced any of the extra romantic moments I added in the last chapter. The whole point of this series is that it's all the ways I can think of that they might have had their FIRST real romantic moment. Also, I got a little over 30 people reading the first chapter and that is amazing! If even half those people would leave a review it would really mean so, so much to me. Also, please suggest more ideas so I can keep this thing going. Ok, enjoy!**

_**Something Different **_

Melissa grinned as she watched Lex gaze at his distress sign and Jackson's raft disappearing over the horizon. It had been an odd day between Nathan and Jackson's falling out and the obstacle course craziness. It was all worth it though to see Lex practically glowing with happiness on his birthday. Sometimes it didn't seem like this group could agree on much, but the one thing they could all agree on was that he deserved it.

A slight breeze disturbed the air on the beach and Melissa shivered, wrapping her arms more tightly around her torso. She was soaking wet from her feet up to her chest from wading in to release the raft and a rogue wave had left her hair wet as well. With the sun going down she was starting to get more than a little cold. She took one last glance at her makeshift family celebrating on the water's edge before heading in the direction of camp in search of a towel.

No one noticed her slipping away but Melissa didn't mind. As lonely as it could be being stranded on the island it was also surprisingly hard to get any time alone there. With so much of the island unexplored or inaccessible in reality their worlds had more or less shrunk to their camp and its immediate surroundings. There was always someone else around, always something else that needed to be done, and Melissa had come to treasure the little moments when she could be alone with her thoughts.

Not to mention she was pretty sure she'd heard Nathan and Jackson patching up their fight and she wasn't about to interrupt that. She hadn't told either of them this out of embarrassment but those two fighting was pretty much one of her worst nightmares. Nathan had been her best friend for a long time and Jackson…well, Jackson was quickly becoming very important to her. She already felt like she spent half her time here playing peacemaker between various people, and usually she didn't mind too much. Having to play the go between with Nathan and Jackson was different though. She had been afraid of saying the wrong thing all day and had genuinely worried that one or the other of her friends was going to ask her to choose between them. That wasn't a decision she wanted to have to face anytime soon.

Melissa was still lost in her thoughts about her friends when she reached the tent. She reached into her pack and absentmindedly rummaged around looking for a towel and dry set of clothes to sleep in. It took her a moment to realize that most of her clothes were still hanging on their makeshift clothesline at the edge of the jungle. She had done her laundry earlier and in all the excitement of the day she'd forgotten to take her clothes down.

Even though at this point she was freezing Melissa was in way too good a mood to let a little delay ruin it. Humming to herself she exited the tent and paused for a moment. She could still hear her friends laughing and splashing around a little down the beach. She smiled and made her way down to where they had strung up a cord to make a clothesline between two trees at the edge of the jungle.

Melissa grabbed a towel and gratefully began to dry off the worst of the dripping water from her arms and legs, pulling her hair from its customary bun and toweling it off as well. Quickly running her fingers through her wet hair to remove the worst of the knots before she returned to the tent and grabbed a brush, she examined the clothes on the line looking for something warm and comfy to sleep in. Melissa spotted her favorite Hartwell sweatshirt and a pair of grey sweatpants and decided those would do. She was just about to head back to the tent to change when another gust of wind caught her sending a huge shiver throughout her body. She knew she was only a couple of minutes from camp but she really was cold now.

"_I'll just get this wet shirt off and put my sweatshirt on,"_ Melissa thought, already dreaming of the warmth she'd soon be feeling even over a wet bra. _"That will make the walk back to camp bearable."_

Melissa stepped behind the wider of the two trees tied to the clothesline and quickly peeled off her wet t-shirt. The cool air met her damp skin and she felt herself break out in goose bumps all over. She turned around to grab her sweatshirt from the end of the line only to find herself face to face with the last person she wanted to see at that moment.

_Jackson. _

For a moment neither of them reacted just stared at each other in shock. If Melissa had been capable of thought at all in that moment she might have noticed that with his hair tousled by the wind and his wet shirt clinging to his chest Jackson looked even more attractive than usual. As it was she was only capable at gaping at her unexpected visitor in horror.

For his part Jackson's eyes were wide and they weren't exactly staying on her face. Melissa felt herself turn beat red as she saw his gaze travel quickly over her far too exposed frame before she came to her senses and threw her arms up to cover herself as much as possible. Her action seemed to snap Jackson out of it as well and he whipped around to face the other way so fast she was surprised he didn't hurt his neck.

"Mel, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you were uh…" He trailed off, his voice rising a little at the end.

Melissa might have been gratified at being able to rattle Jackson if she weren't so mortified.

"It's ok," She told him, even though the truth was she felt anything but.

""No, really, I'm sorr…"

"Don't look!" Mel shrieked.

Jackson had started to turn his head as he talked out of habit until Melissa's cry had him whipping it back in the other direction fast enough to throw off his balance and make him stumble a bit.

"Sorry, it's ok, just hand me my sweatshirt," Melissa begged, her cheeks feeling so blazing hot she thought she might be giving herself a sunburn.

Jackson reached out and yanked her sweatshirt from the line before reaching blindly behind him to hand it to her. Melissa snatched it from his grasp and had it over her head in what had to be record time.

"Ok, you can turn around now," Melissa muttered, embarrassment leaving her tempted to just bolt for camp.

Jackson turned around slowly, one hand ruffling his hair nervously.

"I was just looking for some dry clothes," Jackson offered, clearly stating the obvious just for the sake of saying something.

Melissa nodded. "Me too. I've got them now, obviously, I mean…ok, I'll just leave you to it."

Melissa gathered the rest of her clothes and towel and turned to make her escape back to camp. She made it about three steps before her brain regained its higher functions and she realized just how pathetic she'd sounded. She hadn't sounded that ridiculous talking to Jackson since she first tried to introduce herself to him back at Hartwell. She had changed a lot since then and she didn't like the idea of slipping back into that awkwardness just because Jackson had accidentally gotten a split second glimpse of her in a bra that showed less than some of Taylor's swimsuits.

Melissa turned back and met Jackson's inquisitive gaze squarely.

"I just wanted to say that was a really great thing you did today," She told him earnestly, closing the gap between them until they were only a few feet apart. "For Lex."

"Yeah, well," Jackson cocked his head and shrugged as if to say it was no big deal. "He told me it was his birthday on the plane and I just figured he deserved a break from being the one with everything figured out."

Melissa refused to let him downplay the fact that not only had he done something completely selfless for Lex, but he'd done it even when he'd heard half of his fellow survivors talking about him like he was a crazy person who would snap at any moment.

"You did a _good_ thing, Jackson," She reached out a hand and touched his shoulder gently.

Jackson looked away pensively and Melissa let her hand fall away. She desperately wanted him to say something but she could wait. She'd been waiting for him to open up to her ever since they met and slowly but surely it seemed like they were getting there.

"Nathan thinks we come from different worlds," He said at last as the breeze hit them again though Jackson gave no sign of feeling it despite his wet clothes. "But the problem is there's only one world and it never changes. My whole life it was always some new house, some new set of state appointed parents, some new school but nothing ever really changed. There was always someone who needed their ego massaged, someone who thought they could get something from me, someone who thought they had me all figured out. And the worst part is I never learned, Mel. I _knew_ how things would be but I still let myself hope for something different."

"When you came to Hartwell," Melissa filled in, as Jackson finally turned to face her again.

He nodded.

"Except things weren't any different," Jackson sighed. "Big surprise. Then we crashed and I let myself think, maybe this will equal things out, we're all stuck here. Wrong again."

"That's not fair," Melissa interjected, taking another step closer to Jackson and forcing him to look at her. "Nathan's already apologized and you can't just assume everyone here thinks of you a certain way because one of us had a bad day and blamed you."

"Can't I?" Jackson chuckled, but his tone was a lot less angry than it had been a few seconds ago.

Melissa was now standing next to Jackson as they both stared out towards the ocean, not looking at each other just sharing the moment.

"No, you can't," Melissa smiled and bumped her shoulder against his earning her a real smile from the boy next to her.

They were both silent for a moment before Melissa spoke again.

"You're a good guy, Jackson, and you don't have to prove it, not to me."

Jackson didn't reply just shook his head and gave her a soft smile as if weren't sure he could believe her words but he was grateful for them anyway.

"Yeah, well, what about you?" Jackson countered,

"What about me?" Melissa looked at up the boy beside her not without a little bit of anxiety. Jackson was never the most forthcoming with his opinions about anything, let alone her. His usual silence made the opportunity to hear his thoughts about her both exciting and terrifying at the same time.

"Come on, Mel. I know what you spent your day doing," Jackson looked down at her and gave one of his patented expressions with head cocked to one side and one eyebrow raised slightly.

"Laundry?" Melissa asked half sarcastically.

"Running interference between Nathan and I," Jackson corrected. "Melissa saves the day again."

Melissa shook her head, slightly embarrassed. She knew the others sometimes thought of her as nice to a fault and even annoyingly naive in the way that she couldn't stand for people not to get along. She didn't want people to start thinking of her as some kind of peacemaker wind-up doll that just spent her time bouncing from one person to the next begging them not to fight.

"I mean it, Mel," Jackson said firmly, interrupting her silent self-doubt. "Nathan's been your best friend forever and he had everybody scared to so much as look at me, but not you. You showed up and actually managed to make me feel better."

"It didn't seem like it," She told him, genuinely surprised at his words. She'd been sure that her attempt to talk to him earlier had done nothing but leave him annoyed with her.

"Trust me, knowing that not everyone thought I was a 'loose cannon' helped," Jackson assured her. "And whatever you said to Nathan must have gotten through to him too, since he showed up to clear the air."

"And then you pretty much used the idea of the obstacle course to intimidate him," Melissa giggled, shaking her head. Boys, she honestly didn't think she'd ever understand them.

"Yeah, well, nobody's perfect," Jackson chuckled, meeting her eyes affectionately. "Anyway, I think things are more or less patched up now, so…thank you."

Melissa grinned up at him savoring the feeling of everything being right in her world again, or at least as right as it could be when she was stranded on this island. A few moments passed with the two of them simply smiling at each other before Melissa realized she'd probably been staring up at him for a little too long. She dropped her gaze quickly and tried to ignore the blush that she could feel creeping up over her cheeks.

The cool ocean breeze kicked up again offering Melissa some relief from the heat her face was producing. It also reminded her why they had ended up there in the first place and gave her enough mental clarity to organize her thoughts.

"You must be freezing!" She said guiltily, resting her hand on the still wet sleeve of Jackson's t-shirt.

"Not really," Jackson shrugged, though he did reach over to the clothesline and grab his worn grey sweatshirt. He pulled it on quickly then glanced over at Melissa as the breeze hit them again. "Are you cold?"

"Me? I'm fine," Melissa insisted, trying to play off the chill that by this point seemed to have sunk in all the way down to her bones.

Her denial was quickly proved to be a false one when Melissa's body rebelled against her wishes and shivered letting a forceful shudder run through her entire body.

Jackson laughed. "Are you sure about that?"

Melissa managed a smile in return. "Well, maybe a little."

Jackson glanced away for a second as if considering then he slipped an arm around Melissa's shoulders and tugged gently until she closed the gap between them. For about half a second Melissa was frozen with confusion and nerves. Was this really happening? Did it mean anything? Was Jackson offering her a little bit of friendly warmth or something more?

These doubts didn't manage to hold sway over Melissa's mind for long though. The pure wonderfulness of feeling herself pressed up against Jackson pushed out every thought of deeper meanings and awkward tomorrows.

Melissa snuggled further into Jackson's chest and turned her body slightly so that he could pull her even closer. Sighing contentedly, she rested her head against his chest and after a moment she felt Jackson rest his head on top of hers. His other arm came around to hold her and they stayed like that locked in a hug that both of them had probably needed for a long time without actually being brave enough to ask for it.

They stayed like that for an indefinite period of time that at once felt like it lasted forever and as though it passed in the blink of an eye.

"They're probably wondering where we are by now," Jackson murmured near her ear, breaking Melissa out of her reverie and reminding her that there was actually a world beyond the warm comfort they'd created.

"Mm hm," Melissa answered softly still not making a move to pull away from the boy next to her. "Jackson?"

"Yeah?" He murmured.

Melissa could feel the gentle rumble of his voice through his chest and there was something about that closeness that made Melissa more certain than ever that her feelings for Jackson weren't just the schoolgirl crush they had been in the beginning. In that moment the fact that she could feel rather than just hear his words seemed like an apt metaphor for the way their relationship had progressed during their time trapped there.

Jackson may have felt cursed by his reputation as a troublemaker, but Melissa didn't think they were as different as people assumed. In her experience the word 'nice' had become just as much of a burden as 'trouble' was for him. People had expectations of them both that left them feeling like their actual thoughts and feelings didn't matter much to anyone when compared with the assumptions people made about them.

Sometimes Melissa could swear that she heard so much more in Jackson's few words then what he was actually saying. Now she wanted to believe that someone would hear something more in her and she wanted to believe it would be Jackson.

"Don't stop hoping for something different," She told him softly.

"I'm tired, Mel," He sighed, and Melissa hugged him a little bit tighter. "I'm tired of waiting for something that never comes. It's easier not to care."

Melissa pulled away just far enough that she could look up and meet Jackson's eyes though she stayed within the circle of his arms.

"Jackson, it's not about people changing," She felt as though for once she knew exactly what she wanted to say and the words came easily to her unhindered by embarrassment or shyness. "What's important is that they don't change _you_, and you are a good guy who doesn't give up, and hopes for something better, and…"

Melissa was cut off by Jackson's hands coming up to cup her face and his lips descending to cover hers. She froze in complete shock but quickly managed to regain enough control of her body to respond to the insistent pressure of his lips against hers. Melissa reached up and tangled her fingers in the hairs at the nape of Jackson's neck and leaned further into the kiss. One of his hands traveled from her cheek down to the small of her back and slipped under her sweatshirt to meet the bare skin there causing Melissa to shiver yet again this evening for a very different reason.

Her reaction seemed to draw Jackson back into reality because he broke away from her gasping.

"Mel, I'm sorry," It was his turn to look nervous and Melissa took a few seconds to gain control over her breathing and her hormones before she responded.

"You're…sorry?" She echoed, feeling disappointment welling up inside her. The thought that such an amazing moment for her might be one he regretted was almost too much to deal with.

"Not like that," He reassured her quickly, one hand coming up to brush a wet strand of hair away from her cheek. "That was just…intense. I don't want things to get out of hand like this, stuck here…we can't."

Melissa let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in relief. She stepped forward back into Jackson's arms and held onto him for dear life.

"I can wait," She told him, her voice slightly muffled as her face was buried in his sweatshirt.

"I hope I'm worth the wait," He said softly, doubt apparent in his voice.

"You are," Melissa answered firmly. "I wish you would believe that."

"Not yet," He admitted, hugging her a little closer. "But you do, and that's enough for now."

Melissa grinned into his chest, glad that he couldn't see her expression. She knew it would be sometime before she could fully process everything that had happened between them tonight but what she'd always suspected had now been made clear. Jackson wasn't as solid as he pretended to be and she wasn't quite as afraid as her shyness made her appear. They complemented each other, needed each other, and despite all the thousands of reasons it might seem impossible they _had_ each other. Melissa, secure in that knowledge, knew they could face anything. _Together_.

She still wasn't sure Jackson had taken her words to heart, but as for her, hope for the future was suddenly incredibly, perfectly, instantly…_easy_.


	3. Chapter 3:Worn Away

**Author's Note: Hello again! Ok, so this chapter is for TheOnceAnonymous14. Today is her birthday and she was the first one to review this story and actually responded to my desperate plea for chapter ideas with the prompt of this episode (He Said, She Said). I really hope you enjoy this! I almost went a totally different direction and still might write it up at some point but for some reason the idea of Melissa really letting Jackson have it was appealing to me today. Also, I have another little surprise. So I like to make fanmixes to go with my stories and Volume 1, the one from Jackson's perspective is posted on my profile page for everyone to download and enjoy. It has the song that this series is named after and a lot of other great stuff. Melissa's volume will be coming soon. I also posted the link to a Melissa/Jackson video I did recently. I'm really proud of it, so enjoy that too. Please review if you read this, and especially if you download the fanmix. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THEONCEANONYMOUS14 (is it 15 now lol?)!**

_**Worn Away**_

After her talk with Nathan, Melissa remained sitting on the plane wing long after her friend had returned to camp. She stared at the place where the gently lapping water met the sand, such a soft touch between the two that for a moment she entertained the silly romantic thought of their meeting being a lover's embrace. Then a random day in her science class back at Hartwell passed through her mind, reminding Melissa that the tide was actually stealing sand from the beach, washing it out to sea bit by bit, grain by grain. In a few hundred years this island would probably be half the size it was now.

Melissa drew her knees up to her chest and rested her head sideways against them. She no longer wanted to see the water slipping up to the beach and back out to sea. The idea of being worn away so slowly that no one could see it happening hit a little too close to home for her comfort.

She was glad Nathan had forgiven her for her slip up about his feelings for Daley but his earlier words still rung in her head despite her best efforts to block them out.

"_I can't believe you told them, all of them," Nathan snapped. "Including Daley!" _

"_I'm sorry," Melissa implored, desperate to make him understand. "I tried to keep your secret, Nathan, but the more I covered for you the more questions got asked and the more lies I had to tell…it all just…unraveled." _

"_So you're saying that I can't trust you?" Nathan spat. _

That had hurt more than Melissa had really been able to say and more than Nathan's later words had really been able to undo. She could understand his anger and in a lot of ways his reaction was completely justified. It was just the idea that one day of mistakes could somehow outweigh all her days of loyal friendship, that somehow eleven years of memories could be swept away by one blurted confession. She knew Nathan was in the middle of an extremely trying situation and it wasn't fair to try to make it about her, which is why she'd accepted his apology without comment. Selfishly…silently…she just wanted credit for all times she'd done things right.

Taylor was the one who had done nothing all day but attempt to turn everyone against each other and yet the next time she performed an act that could be considered halfway human Jackson would probably throw her a party.

_Jackson_.

He was yet another reason she was avoiding camp for the time being.

She didn't want to admit it out loud but Jackson's opinion of her mattered just as much at this point as Nathan's. It hadn't escaped her notice in the past few days how Jackson had started to praise Taylor for little things. A smile for boiling the water, a lingering thank you for charging the batteries, all the things Taylor was supposed to be doing anyway, things she complained about as often as not. Melissa worked as hard as she could day in and day out and still made an effort to be pleasant and friendly to everyone, but Jackson hardly seemed to know she was alive some days. Jealousy wasn't a particularly noble emotion and the neediness that backed it up wasn't especially flattering. It wasn't like Melissa did her chores or was nice to people because she hoped to be praised for it. It was just that on tough days, days like this, it would be nice.

Instead she'd had everyone ambushing her and demanding explanations like they couldn't trust her judgment on whether something needed to be told or not. Just the thought that Jackson had been among those who literally backed her into a corner had Melissa feeling another emotion she didn't often like to give into…anger.

Unfortunately for Jackson he chose that moment to make his presence known from where he had apparently come to stand near the wing.

"So," His voice broke into her thoughts, and Melissa eased her head off of her knees and turned to face the boy she was usually so glad to see. "Nathan and Daley, huh?"

Melissa fought the urge to roll her eyes and wasn't at all sure that she'd entirely succeeded.

"What's so surprising about that?" She countered, not feeling particularly motivated to engage in a conversation with someone she was so conflicted about at the moment.

Jackson seemed a little taken aback by her answer.

"Uh, I don't know, the fact that they spent the first few weeks here trying to kill each other?" He half chuckled at the memory then trailed off as he took in Melissa's lack of response.

Finally, Melissa shrugged. "Things change, we're all stuck here together. Eventually you start to see people for who they really are."

"I guess it makes a weird kind of sense," Jackson leaned against the wing and Melissa fought the urge to shift further away from him. "They're kind of like the same person underneath all the initial hatred."

"Kind of," Melissa answered noncommittally, turning her gaze back out to the sea in an effort to avoid looking at Jackson.

She knew if she met his eyes for too long her anger was going to drain out of her and she wanted to hold on to it for just a few moments longer. It might have sounded strange if she tried to say it out loud but the intense heat of anger was actually a welcome relief from the numbness that had been creeping up on her more and more lately.

"I don't think Daley saw it coming," Jackson continued, seemingly unfazed by her less than enthusiastic responses. "Her face when you said it…"

"I'm not really comfortable discussing this," Melissa broke in, finally turning to face him.

"What's wrong?" He eyed her with something resembling concern but Melissa didn't let it soften her tone.

"We shouldn't gossip about them," She said firmly, wishing suddenly and ridiculously that she hadn't worn her hair in those silly folded up pigtails that day. How did she expect anyone to take her seriously when she looked like a five-year-old?

"I wasn't trying to," Jackson seemed genuinely shocked at the accusation.

"What did you think we were doing?" She demanded, aware that she sounded shrill and somewhat crazy but not having the strength to rein herself in.

"Talking," Jackson offered bluntly, raising one eyebrow slightly and leaning back as though afraid she might physically bite his head off instead of just metaphorically. "We're friends, we talk."

"You mean confide?" Melissa laughed, but it sounded harsh and humorless to her ears. "And when Taylor tells Nathan we were talking about him?"

"She'll probably think we're in cahoots," Jackson tried for a joke but Melissa pressed on.

"By this time tomorrow Nathan and Daley will probably be mad at me for talking about them behind their backs, so I'll have to tell them before they find out some other way. Then you'll be mad at me for telling them and then…and then…" Melissa trailed off realizing that she was rambling and not making much sense in her frustration.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Mel," Jackson reached out to place a calming hand on her shoulder but Melissa shrugged him off.

The look of hurt that flashed on his face was brief but Melissa caught it. She could tell he was finally catching on to the fact that good, sweet, accommodating, little Melissa was really mad this time.

"What's really bothering you?" He asked locking eyes with her as though he could physically keep her from looking away through the intensity of his gaze alone. Melissa thought he probably could.

"How could you?" The words burst from someplace within her that Melissa had spent the better part of the last hour trying unsuccessfully to subdue them. She could feel tears threatening to make themselves known, pricking the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away more irritated by the weakness they represented than anything.

Jackson reeled back as though she had slapped him. "How could I do what?"

"What everyone else did," Melissa took a shuddering breath. "Gang up on me, back me into a corner, pressure me to betray a friend. Eric, Taylor yeah, and Daley can be pushy but you…I never thought you would do something like that."

"Mel," Jackson sputtered for a moment clearly clueless how to respond. "It wasn't like that."

"Of course it was, Jackson," Melissa shook her head, refusing to backpedal now that she'd finally had to tell the truth about her feelings for once. "That's exactly what it was like."

"We were just worried about Nathan," Jackson insisted. "And Taylor was driving everybody crazy with her theories, we had to get everything out in the open or she never would have let it go."

Melissa could practically feel her blood boiling at the mention of Taylor's name.

"Come on, Jackson, that's bull," She told him flatly. "You should have trusted me. Did you honestly think if something serious was wrong with Nathan that I wouldn't have spoken up? Have you forgotten that I know exactly what it's like to have my secrets exposed to everyone? Have you forgotten that the same thing happened to you? I know the difference between curiosity-fueled drama and what people really need to know. And Taylor…"

She trailed off for a moment, closing her eyes to gain the strength not to resort strictly to a petty jealous rant. When she opened her eyes Jackson was still staring at her as intensely as ever.

"So because Taylor can't mind her own business we should all suffer? We have to shut down all of our lives and make sure her curiosity is satisfied because it's what? _Easier_ than making her face reality and grow up?"

"She's trying," Jackson defended and Melissa felt her last thread of self-control snap as though it were a physical strand stretched taut between her heart and her mouth.

"_I'm_ trying," Melissa sobbed, her voice catching as the tears that she had been forcing back bursting out all at once. "Everyday I try but it doesn't matter. It _never_ seems to matter."

"Mel," The way he said her name it was like it physically hurt him. Melissa felt it echo in her own chest before settling there as a weight that made it hard to breathe. "Mel, don't cry."

"Maybe I need to," Melissa told him even as she swiped at her face in an attempt to wipe away tears that were only replaced by new ones moments later. "I don't need your permission."

"Mel, please," He tried again, and this time it was his voice that caught. "We all know how hard you try. _I_ know it."

"That's the problem," Melissa wished she could stop blubbering but it didn't seem to be in the cards at the moment. "Everyone just takes it for granted that I'll do what I should do, what's expected of me, and no one ever seems to consider that it's hard. It's so _hard_ to do the right thing all the time, Jackson."

"It's hard for me," Jackson said softly, reaching out as though he was going to brush a tear away from her face but seeing her tense he merely left his hand outstretched in the air. "You make it look easy."

"It would be easier if I had someone to talk to," Melissa sighed, and Jackson's hand fell back to his side. "Someone who wasn't more wrapped up in all the drama around here than what really matters."

"You do have that, Mel," Jackson insisted, his clear, blue eyes beseeching her to give in and forgive him. "You can count on me."

"I thought so," Melissa shook her head, desperately trying to gain control over her emotions. How had things gotten to this point? The entire day seemed more and more like some kind of bad dream. Surely this couldn't be reality where she was sobbing like a baby and alienating the one person she most wanted to think of her as strong and stable.

"I'm sorry," Jackson broke in quickly, his tone, his posture, the look in his eyes all begging her to believe him. "I didn't think. I was just…"

"Just caught up in Taylor?" Melissa offered, her tears finally seeming to slow to a trickle. She was feeling exhausted, emotionally and physically.

"_Mel_," Jackson stretched her name out like a plea and reached out as though to pull her into a hug.

Melissa resisted at first, batting his hands away and struggling against his insistent yet gentle grip on her arms. Finally the exhaustion was too much and she crumpled into his arms, somewhat ashamed of how good it felt to be there.

She could no longer see Jackson's face but she could hear him clearly when he spoke again.

"I was just _jealous_," He told her, words that washed over Melissa and sat in her mind for a few moments before she was able to process their possible meaning. "Totally, ridiculously, out of my mind jealous."

"What?" Melissa gasped, breathing in both a welcome rush of air and the indistinct but comforting scent that was somehow instantly recognizable to her as Jackson.

"I didn't care when Taylor told me Nathan was plotting world domination," Jackson chuckled, gathering her a little closer to him. "I checked with Daley privately to make sure they were ok, but it wasn't a big deal."

"What changed?" Melissa asked, her heart pounding so loud she was sure Jackson must be able to hear it.

"Taylor said she'd seen you and Nathan…you know, together," Jackson answered, his voice betraying a slight tremor of nervousness or embarrassment or more likely both. "I know she's full of it ninety percent of the time, but still. The thought of you with Nathan…with anyone…I didn't like it."

"Why not?" Melissa whispered, hardly trusting her own voice anymore.

She felt as well as heard Jackson take a deep breath before answering. His hand came up and wound it's way into her hair as best it could given the little girl twisted pigtails she was still regretting.

"Because of me," Jackson admitted softly. "Because I only want you to be with me."

Melissa felt lightheaded from the sudden rush of emotions brought on by his admission. She was on the one hand so happy she wanted to leap up and cartwheel down the beach. On the other hand she was still irritated, and wasn't sure she was willing to let 'I hurt you because I care about you' pass as an excuse in this situation.

She drew back a little until she could see Jackson's face again, noting his expression was equal parts terror and hopefulness.

"And it took Taylor's craziness to make you realize this?" She asked, a small smile making its way on to her face despite her best efforts to keep it in check.

Jackson returned her smile instantly with one twice as big and three times as bright.

"I was getting there on my own," He reached out and brushed away a tear track on her cheek and this time Melissa leaned into his touch rather than pulling away. "But her craziness helped speed the process up a bit."

"That's stupid," Melissa tilted her head and gave what she hoped was a passable approximation of annoyance but she had a suspicion it was more like affectionate than anything else.

"Totally stupid," Jackson murmured, leaning forward and dipping his head down until his lips met hers briefly, pulling away before she had a chance to fully register his actions.

"Really stupid." He continued, leaning down and capturing her lips again, only to pull away as fast as he had before.

Melissa was catching on by this point and despite her underlying shyness and exhaustion from the range of emotions she'd allowed herself to experience today, for the first time in a long time she didn't hesitate before acting on her feelings.

"Incredibly stupid," She hummed leaning forward and pressing her lips gently against his before pulling away as quickly as he had previously.

"So freaking stup…umph," Jackson started only to be cut off not to mention practically smothered as a grinning Melissa leapt forward to initiate a kiss far deeper and longer lasting than any of those that came before it.

It was stupid. Waiting to expose your feelings until someone pushed you into it, or backed you into a corner, or until you simply couldn't hold them in anymore was a stupid strategy, one that was bound to leave you feeling lonely and emotionally wrecked. Melissa knew this applied as much to her as it did to Jackson, probably more.

She'd felt for weeks like she was being worn away to nothing, like so many grains of sand beneath the pressure of the tide, disappearing bit by bit while no one noticed. Now she realized that it had been partly her fault for putting up a wall around herself, a wall that took the form of a smiling face and a determination to keep up an impossibly cheerful front. Luckily it turned out that her wall could also be worn away and with each brush of Jackson's lips against hers she felt it disintegrate a bit more.


	4. Chapter 4:Baggage

**Author's Note: Another chapter for you guys! I don't think I'm alone in saying that this is one missing scene from the series that I've always been dying to see. Yep it's time for "See Ya". Sometime between Jackson announcing he was going with Eric and Abby and the next morning Melissa decides to go with them. Surely Jackson must have had something to do with that decision, right? This is my take on one of the many theories floating around in my head about how that conversation could have happened. Anyway, as always reviews mean a lot to me. I made a joke on tumblr recently about how it was hard to find Flight 29 Down fics that I really loved and then thought I actually include my own in that! I always feel like I can't get them in character properly when I'm making them do and say things the show never let us see lol. I hope you guys enjoy this anyway! Also this is a reminder that there's a Jackson point of view fanmix of music for download on my profile page. Please send me ideas for other scenes to try! **

**A special thank you to Bullfrommars who left me a lovely review that I couldn't reply to in any other way. : )**

**_Baggage_**

"I'm going with Eric and Abby," His declaration hung in the air like a poisonous gas, choking the air out of everyone within hearing distance, everyone but Eric who had seen it coming and Abby who had goaded him into it.

He didn't want to look at anyone, any of his fellow castaways, any of his…well, almost _friends_, not when he knew disappointment and betrayal is what he'd see staring back at him. The problem was he didn't exactly want to look away either. If he couldn't meet people's eyes that meant he was unsure of his decision and he wanted to project confidence, even if he didn't feel it.

The silence stretched and an eerie stillness settled over the camp. It was never quiet here, not really. Jackson was used to sleeping through car horns, the neighbor's TV blasting at three in the morning, even random gunshots breaking out in his neighborhood but here it was a whole different ballgame. Insects that got together in groups and made strange clicking sounds, birds that seemed to keep no discernable schedule, and the relentless pounding of the waves all made up a new and sometimes deafening soundtrack to Jackson's life. However even these ambient noises seemed to sense the shift and settled down to a gentle murmur, offering no relief from the silent standoff occupying camp.

Daley was the first to move, shaking her head and walking quickly away down the beach. Daley's departure seemed to snap everyone else out of whatever trance he'd put them in with his confession and suddenly they were all moving. Nathan gave him one last grim look before taking off after Daley. Abby, seemingly unconcerned, sat down by the fire and unwrapped the makeshift bandage from her arm to examine her healing cut. As Abby was sitting down, Taylor was springing to her feet though once she stood she seemed uncertain of where to go. Eric in a move showing just how unsettled he was under his cool exterior actually mumbled something about hauling water and stalked off.

Lex leaned forward from where he'd been standing against one of the shelter supports and snatched a piece of driftwood from the ground and hurled it at the plane. It bounced off with a hollow bang and Lex watched it fall back to the sand before meeting Jackson's eyes.

"This is wrong," He said, for once sounding like the little kid that he truly was. He turned and disappeared into the plane.

"He's right," Taylor sniffed softly, clutching her folded arms, a shell of the confident girl she usually was. "We all need to stay together."

"We're not all together," Abby snapped, glancing up at the blonde who she'd shocked into silence. "We haven't been since day one. I for one want to find the others."

Taylor's whole body seemed to sag under Abby's words, whether it was because she had realized Abby was right or because she had realized there was no changing their minds Jackson didn't know. She shot him one tear filled glance that he met as steadily as he could before she went in to the plane after Lex.

"They're so clueless," Abby stated, re-wrapping the bandage around her arm and yanking it hard enough that Jackson thought she might be cutting off circulation. "Playing house won't get us rescued."

"Yeah, well, sending people off to explore the island hasn't gotten us rescued so far either," Jackson said coldly, feeling, despite his earlier role in their distress, incredibly protective of the people he'd been living with for the past month.

For a moment Abby looked as though he'd slapped her, and Jackson felt a strange satisfaction in having been able to break through her wall that he hadn't seen slip since she walked back in to camp. He felt a little guilty for calling out the others for having gone off pointlessly when he didn't even know if they were still alive. Jackson felt his mind almost physically wrench itself away from that thought. They had to be alive, the alternative was just too…well, they just had to be alive.

Just as quickly as it had dropped Abby's mask of calculated indifference was firmly back in place.

"Speaking of playing house," Abby picked up a piece of firewood and tossed it on to the fire throwing up a shower of sparks. "You should probably go say goodbye to your little girlfriend, she seemed pretty upset."

Jackson felt his body freeze in panic as his mind went a million miles a minute. There was no question who Abby meant. She'd seen Melissa's feelings for him well enough the last time she came back to camp.

_Melissa_.

Where was she? She was the only one he hadn't seen leave. She must have left so quickly and quietly that he missed it. How could he have missed it? Guilt washed over him and a sick, worried feeling settled in his stomach.

"Where did she go?" He demanded, his voice hard and impatient.

Abby nodded towards the jungle and Jackson was already on the move in that direction before she'd finished the gesture.

"Lose the baggage, Jackson," She called after him, sounding more resigned and sad than arrogant. "This is about survival."

Jackson didn't look back.

The thing was he knew exactly what she meant. Back when Abby had been just a nice, rich girl who never had to worry about anything, Jackson had been a guy who lived by a motto not dissimilar to the one Abby had just shouted at him. Lose the baggage. Think about survival.

His mom, all those foster parents, his so-called former friends, everyone he'd ever invested anything in had eventually made his life harder, made it harder to get by. It wasn't until he'd adopted the attitude that it was every man for himself that he'd finally started to live a less complicated, if lonely life. He hadn't been in jail, dead or getting his ass kicked daily though, so what was a little loneliness in the grand scheme of things? Survival. He had been all about survival. Then he had slipped up, went looking for his old friends, and now he probably had a juvie cell waiting for him when he got back. Baggage.

He _got_ what Abby was saying. It was just putting it into practice at the moment that was proving to be impossible. Because when it came right down to it, Jackson could accept Abby's principle but he couldn't accept one thing: Melissa Wu was _not_ baggage.

Jackson crashed through the jungle not sure exactly where he was going but having a vague notion that he was heading in the right direction. He didn't think Melissa would have gone too far, ever since the incident with her tape and the loudspeaker she'd avoided any solo trips more than a few hundred yards from camp. After ending up going over a cliff on her last such outing she was probably always going to be nervous to be alone in unknown territory.

"_And you're not leaving her alone in unknown territory tomorrow?"_

Jackson shook his head as though he could physically shake out the stray thought that rang all too true.

He had to get out of here, had to see what else was on this island for himself, had to find the others, had to find _something_ that said this wasn't going to be the rest of his life. In some ways he was still in no hurry to get rescued. The uncertainty of what awaited him after they made it home made the relative security of their life on the island appealing on some days. And then there were some days when he woke up and felt as though someone was sitting on his chest, and the ocean in front of their camp and the jungle behind it felt as much like bars blocking in a cell, as any concrete room in juvie would have.

This couldn't be _it_. Not forever.

He tried to picture Eric in his twenties, Daley in her thirties, God forbid Nathan in his forties. Would they grow old here, or more likely die young from some disease, or accident, or from going mad and murdering each other?

Jackson was so lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed where he was going but when he stumbled in to the little clearing where he and Melissa had spoken about their relationship or lack thereof only yesterday he knew his subconscious had known what it was doing.

Melissa was there, slumped over on the same log she'd been sitting on yesterday when he'd arrived to tell her he liked her, but Taylor too…maybe, and she gave him security, but he couldn't be with her here, and wasn't sure about when they got home, and let's just get rescued ok…

Jackson realized looking back that the whole conversation had been a mess and he was surprised she had let him get away with his train wreck of an apology attempt. He'd known the way he was treating Melissa wasn't fair, clinging to how safe and just plain good she made him feel but also making it clear that no amount of moments shared between them was any kind of guarantee that he'd feel the same the next minute.

He always wanted to say the exact right thing to Melissa, the way she always seemed to find the right thing to say to him, even if he didn't realize how right she'd been until later. The problem was, he wasn't Melissa Wu, good person, amazing friend, and all around ray of sunlight in an otherwise dreary situation. He was Cody Jackson, perennial screw up, emotionally guarded, man of few words. He never knew the right thing to say to Melissa and now was no exception.

Melissa's hands were wrapped together, hanging forward as her head sagged onto her knees and she didn't notice him for a few seconds. When she did look up her eyes were red and swollen but she wasn't crying. They simply stared at each other for a moment, Jackson regaining his breath after his jog through the jungle and Melissa carefully brushing the strands of hair that had escaped from her half-ponytail out of her eyes.

Jackson scrambled to think of something to say but it was Melissa who broke the silence.

"I guess I need to find a new hiding place, huh?" Her lips stretched into an approximation of a smile but it never reached her eyes and faded quickly. "This is two days in a row."

"Mel," Jackson hated to see her putting on a brave face even more than he hated to see her cry. "I was going to tell you."

She nodded slowly and glanced away.

"I can't believe everything fell apart like that all at once," She said softly. "Things were tough, but we were doing ok yesterday you know? And now…"

"We're still doing ok," Jackson tried to reassure her even though the sentiment sounded false to him even as he said it. "We're just going to split up for a while."

Melissa looked back at him with disbelief written all over her face.

"Be serious, Jackson," She pinned him with her gaze and he felt about an inch tall under her scrutiny. "The whole thing just fractured."

She paused, began tracing a circle in the sandy dirt under feet, then continued in a flat tone.

"When were you going to tell me?" She echoed his words back to him and Jackson considered them for the first time.

"I didn't really know I was going right up until I said it," He admitted. "Abby had talked to me earlier and I thought about it, but I didn't really know…until I knew."

He sighed. He knew it was a terrible answer that probably didn't make any sense but Melissa was nodding. She always did seem to somehow hear his intentions underneath all his halting, awkward speeches.

"I guess what I meant," He told her sincerely, knowing the words were true as he spoke them. "Is that as soon as I decided I was going I wished I could have told you first."

It was true. He couldn't pinpoint why it felt wrong that she'd heard along with everyone else, he just knew it did. He wasn't sure what he would have said differently had they been alone when she found out but he wished there had been enough time to find out.

"What if you don't find anything?" She broke into his thoughts, her tone not quite accusatory but definitely demanding serious consideration. "What if one of you gets hurt?"

"We'll look after each other," He told her, answering the question he found easier first. "And, I don't know what we'll find, I just know I have to look."

Once again she seemed to accept his answer fairly readily. He was beginning to suspect that most of her questions were aimed not at getting answers for herself but at forcing him to think through his own reasons for abandoning their fledgling home.

"What about us?" Melissa finally asked, and it was like a punch to the gut for Jackson. "What we have here, it won't work without you."

Jackson could hardly believe that she was serious even though he knew she was. A month ago most of the people on this trip had treated him like an object of mild curiosity and nothing more. As time went by on the island they had veered between a fragile friendship and suspicion. When had he actually become part of the group? Was it when he became leader or when he gave it up? Was it when he made Lex a raft for his distress sign? Was it when he played his song for them on Chillopolooza or whatever Taylor had called it?

No.

He knew when it was deep down. It was when he had run away before, on his own that time, after being exposed by Eric. It was when Melissa had chased him down in the middle of a tropical storm, thrown her arms around him, and told him he was already exactly where he was supposed to be.

Now he wasn't so sure where he was supposed to be. He just knew he wished finding it didn't have to mean leaving the girl who convinced him he could.

"You guys will be fine," He told her with a small smile and a large dose of false confidence.

She shook her head before he'd even finished offering his reassurance.

"We need you, Jackson," She finally seemed to be letting some of her frustration seep through.

"No you don't," He insisted softly. "Daley's got everything under control, and you've got Nathan, and Lex will think of new ways to get things done easier, and Taylor's been trying lately. You should thank me for taking Eric off your hands by the way."

He expected to get a laugh from that one but instead she buried her face in her hands.

"Mel," He took a couple of steps forward and dropped to one knee in front of her just as he had the day before. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, her face still covered by her hands and Jackson reached up to gently pry them away. He tugged first one hand down then the other and surprised himself as much as her by keeping them wrapped in his even once his task was finished.

Melissa let out a huff of breath somewhere between a sigh and a hiccup and seemed to be having a hard time catching her breath. Jackson gripped her hands more tightly, and ran his thumb in a soft circle over the patch of skin it rested upon.

"We need you, Jackson," She repeated softly, her tone begging him to hear what she was saying.

"Mel, no," He told her softly but firmly. It wasn't just that he wanted her to accept that he was going. He truly believed that they would be fine without him. He wasn't the strong, solid guy she seemed to think he was.

"Are you going to make me say it?" She was staring down at their entwined hands, strands of hair blocking his view of her face.

He didn't know what she was talking about he just knew he wished she would look at him. He couldn't read her expression like this and it was driving him crazy not to be able to look into her eyes.

She didn't look up but at this distance he could hear the deep inhale she took before saying something that left him reeling.

"_I_ need you," Her voice shook only slightly and there wasn't any doubt that he'd heard what he thought had.

A rush of emotion swept through Jackson so real that he almost believed it was a physical rush. It was clearly the best high he'd ever had, that was for sure. His whole life he'd been passed around between people who couldn't care less, people he had to depend on without actually being able to trust them. The group of rough friends he used to run with for security, the string of lousy foster parents for a roof over his head, the mayor and his pet project of giving troubled kids second chances in fancy private schools for a way to avoid juvie. He was so used to having to take what he could get from people and then running the other way as fast as he could that the idea of someone needing _him_ was a completely foreign one.

And this wasn't just anyone, this was Melissa Wu, good person, amazing friend, and all around ray of sunshine in what he'd always found to be an otherwise dreary world.

_She needed him_.

He needed her too of course, had known that for sometime. He had just let her fill that need for him without allowing himself to think too deeply about where the need came from. He hadn't been able to put into words exactly what their relationship was, friendship, romance, something in between. He'd thought that his confusion was because of the stress of their situation on the island, or because Taylor had surprised him with how human she could be, but in that moment he finally knew it wasn't really any of those things. It wasn't stress, or a rival for his affections, or even the need to focus on getting rescued.

It was fear.

He needed her, but if she needed him back then that meant he could screw it up.

_He needed her, she needed him, and the whole thing scared the shit out of him_.

Somehow though, it didn't seem to matter in that moment. Somehow just becoming aware of the fear that had been choking him for so long managed to loosen its grip. He didn't pause to consider the implications of what he was doing just leaned forward until his forehead pressed lightly against Melissa's.

He heard a sharp inhale from her at the contact but she didn't pull away, if anything leaning against him a little more firmly.

"Come with us," He whispered, closing his eyes and gathering his courage. "Come with _me_."

He expected her to protest. He expected her to list all the reasons she shouldn't, _couldn't_ go. He expected her to bring up Nathan, her best friend since Kindergarten, or her loyalty to Daley, or her concern about Lex, even her worries about Taylor.

He didn't expect her to withdraw one of her hands from where they were tangled with his and lay it softly against his cheek until he opened his eyes and met hers before uttering one word.

"Yes,"

The next day as he watched Melissa's tearful embrace with Nathan, Jackson felt a pang in his chest. He knew that as hard as it was for him to walk away from what they'd created here it was harder for her. These people who had only recently worked their way into his heart had been the playmates of her childhood, the ones who she sat with at lunch, and spent late nights talking to on the phone. They had inside jokes and shared memories and a history he couldn't compete with. He didn't want to take her away from people who probably deserved her more.

The thing was things were never that cut and dry. Melissa was her own person, an amazing person and Jackson trusted her to decide for herself where she should be and who she should be with. And for some reason he'd yet to figure out he was lucky enough to be that guy.

As they set out Jackson felt the weight of guilt and fear slipping away with each step they took further from camp. For the first time in a long time he felt as though he had not only a purpose, but a plan.

He intended to find a way off of this island. He intended to keep Melissa safe and happy in the mean time. And then he intended to prove to her that he was worth her faith in him, one day at a time for as long as she'd let him. That was a burden, _baggage_, that he couldn't wait to carry.


End file.
